Thursday 28th February

Well the last day of February has been such a stressful day! 

Although after struggling to sort out a few bits and pieces outside of uni, I made it in time for Dan Hays artist talk which was really interesting. I thought his large scale painting technique was extremely unique in the way that he could create a pixelated or modulated image from tiny brush marks, systematic patterns and grids. They way he combined painterly techniques and the idea of digital technology with the natural landscape was really skilful. 

Grid like pixelation of image

Close up detail of painting technique

Stripe Modulation

I was trying to design a poster for my site specific work on INDesign on a MAC computer, which was hard work as I don’t really know how to use either of them! After sitting at the computer for ages I have managed to produce an A4 poster so I will print a few out in colour to put up in the streets and hopefully some shops later on. I am also planning on making small A5 flyer in black and white which I can personally hand out to members of the public.

I would show you but dont know how to show it on the blog as its a PDF file, sorry!

I have also promoted my new blog on facebook and have given the address to friends and family. I will also distribute the address around uni to make other student aware of the event.   
The address is hidden-art-in-the-park.blogspot.co.uk

The day ended with disappointing news: we have not got the Crate space for free. Another group has got it instead, also on a day that we had put our proposal for. We will have to rethink our idea and try and find another space; however this will not be easy as we don’t have much time left. I would have been good if we could have found this out earlier but we were not aware that there was going to be competition for the space.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for all of us....

Rachael

Wednesday 27th February

Hi,
 Studio work is going slowly but surely. It has been good to start another painting, and today our painting technician mixed up some gesso, so I am going to work on two small egg tempera paintings alongside my large works. I have been thinking about how to display my documentation in the gallery. I want to use magnets on an aluminium sheet.Tomorrow I hope to create a frame for this sheet of metal. I will then start to make the magnets. Thinking about votives too. And nothing to do with work...I got my international student card today !!!!!!!!! YES.

Yesterday was the big trip up to London. We met at the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood and from there we went to 'Deborah House' where our tutors Bob Matthews and Jost Munster have their studios. They had organised some studio visits for us. In total we visited five studios including their own. Each artist told us about their studio practice and their work. They also spoke of how they organised their work/ life balance, and how they came to be in their present situation. It was so interesting to hear their  different strategies for generating work. Mike Samuels always works directly on his wall sculptural pieces, never planning or drawing in preparation for their creation. Jost on the other hand always draws and plans his work by making smaller versions first, often using gauche. Bob does meticulous preparation work before carving into a lino print block. In his current piece his imagery was created digitally in numerous layers on the computer first, then projected onto the Lino. We visited two other artists. Julian Wakelin who works in oils to create small abstract paintings. His paint palette was awesome! A large slab of glass with rich dark colours spread all over it reflecting the colours in his paintings. We then popped into to see Bridgit Olando's studio briefly. She is an old friend of mine. Her work and studio was a stark contrast to the others. Bright colours and super realistic images. A white floored studio with wicker chairs and paper butterflies hanging from the ceiling! When we had finished at Deborah house we all went to lunch in a local turkish restaurant, before dispersing to visit different exhibitions. I chose to go to the Barbican to see 'The Bride and the Bachelors'  I thoroughly recommend this!!  A totally brilliantly curated show.  There I saw the Rauschenberg painting inspired by Duchamp's 'The Bride'  Well worth the visit just for that!

Jost and Bob's studios

Tuesday 26th February

Hi, I just want to update you on how my site specific work is going. I have now finished all 12 objects for the Westgate Gardens:

I am planning to hide them before the exhibition, either Sun 10^th March after the trip to Cologne, or the next weekend Sat 16^th/Sun 17^th March. I can then use the documenting photographs in the final exhibition, and can also use the exhibition as a means of promoting the  hidden paintings I will do in the Dane John Gardens afterwards.

After thinking even more about how it is all going to work, I have decided to create a blog specifically for my miniature paintings. The blog address will be written an red paper and attached to the back of or underneath the objects. The finders can then look at the blog and find more information about the project and see photos of all the objects hidden in the Gardens. There is going to be a little verse linked to each object which they can read too. I think this ties in well with Nadja’s Tarot reading cards and the idea of a hidden message/meaning. I will distribute flyers and put up posters to inform the public of the project so they can search for them, but I would also like people to stumble across them unexpectedly.

The idea is that whoever finds an object will get to keep it if they email me a photo of them with it and any thoughts or feelings they might have. This will make the project more interactive. 

I will let you know the blog address on my next post!

Rachael 

Hi!

Today has been one of those frustrating running-back-and-forward-and-back days. A day when you feel you are constantly faced with new obstacles and by the end of the day you haven't gotten as much done as you had planned at all. But at least I now know how I will construct the boxes for my question cards(but I will build them on Wednesday because I ran out of time today) and I have bought the hinges for them (managed to find proper ones after two quick visits to Wilkinsons, first to buy a variety of sizes and after getting technicians approval of one of them running back to buy more of that size, 38 mm).
And I have edited two versions of the social sleeves performance and burned one of them on a DVD.

So, here is now one of the edited versions:

And now I will leave you with some Nordic Artist websites I find inspiring:

http://henrikalax.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.siggabjorg.net/

http://www.lindabondestam.com/

http://www.moomin.com/tove/

Take care everyone!


Nadja

Sunday 24th Febuary

Now my home is back to its normal format, and papers, pictures and furniture are making it look as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened! Well it is not quite the mess that it usually is! I’ve had time to think about the experience and I feel glad that I took the plunge to experiment with using my home as an exhibition space. I have all the props now to do this again, and will definatly use it in the future, and might try it for selling my prints at some point. I might team up with other Whitstable people. Who knows?

I did not have time to speak about the Light Exhibition at the Haward gallery. On Thursday I went up to London for the UCA Student experience conference. I took advantage of the fact that the venue was just behind the Southbank Centre to go to the Hayward Gallery. With the Art Fund pass that we students have been given you can get in for £5.00! Well that is nearly half the price of a ticket with a student reduction. I recommend this current  exhibition 'Light Show'. As well as getting the chance to see a pieces by legendary artists Dan Flavin and James Turrel  it was  a revelation to discover an extraordinary piece by Katie Paterson whose light replicated the moon light when it was positioned opposite the sun. It was very subtly beautiful. Another work that overwhelmed me with its beauty was an untitled piece by Doug Wheeler. The different impacts that light have on different paint surfaces fascinates me. I had not realised that there were so many different qualities of light. LED, tungsten, fluorescent etc. ... Well maybe I had, but I had not thought about it so expansively within the context of Art.

 I timed my visit after four, so the place was packed with 'eager to educated their young' parents. Well lets face it, it is a good one for kids, but it meant that I hardly got a chance to see Anthony McCall’s piece nearly blocked out by busy shadows!  and the queues for Ivan Navarro’s work stretched through to the next gallery!

Katie Paterson 

Doug Wheeler

Then if you want a free light show step out side of the gallery as the light falls over London!

 

Hey this blog format doesn't even know how to centre properly!

Saturday 23rd February

Well I suppose that some days there will be little to write and others a lot. Where do I start? Well it was all looking good. I had got up early enough to deliver the posters with ‘Today’ film showing on them, and buy odds and ends needed. The red wool was installed out side, (redthreadtrail!) the poster stuck to the wall beside the door, and the stair curtain/canvas installed.  But that door knocker that I had put off fixing to the door for one year was still in it’s box. So ten minutes before kick off I was outside with a screwdriver doing the job. All finished in time and the first little group of three arrived. Reg and Pat from Saint Peters and Jean. It was a nice warm feeling to have an audience and to have the film working. Sonja’s wonderful short animations worked beautifully with my rather lengthy films, and really if I had a say in the matter she would make some more! Other than a lull from 1-3pm, friends arrived sometimes one alone and sometimes it seemed all at once! It was surprising how many people knew each other and the conclusion to the event was that nobody much comes as a direct result of the posters. This kind of event works best through friends and by invitation.

Nadja and Rachel came with Sonja(animation) and Pernilla. It was jolly, and there was tea/coffee, and cakes. I felt so touched that Sara and Sarah came too. Thank you everyone for your support.  I can’t tell you how much it was appreciated.  Anyone reading this support your fellow artists when they have a show.  It helps so much, and makes it feel successful.

I had a comment sheet and as a result of positive feedback I certainly would consider doing a second film showing …… that means more films, or others films?

Others perhaps as I need to get back to painting for a while!

Enter through the front door and turn left!!!

(when there was a film showing we turned out the lights, but lights on for this photo snap)

Sonja has a blog: legendarylobster.tumblr.com and I have posted one of my films (other one to come) on my blog jenniewrightuca.blogspot.com
Reading the different blog entries I find my style a little dry. Excuse my English you Finish girls!! And Rachael I love your writing style.

Today wasn't a particularly busy day.. I have been focusing mainly on my paintings and how to exhibit them. I want to build boxes with doors that can open and reveal the painting inside

However, it will not be as simple as I first thought. Since I want the boxes to resemble cards I need the hinges to be invisible for the viewer when the box is shut. Therefor I need to use hidden hinges which are placed on the inside of the door. The issue here is that the door will be made in such a light and thin material which I will not be able to drill into, so I cannot use screws to fasten the hinge to the door. The helpful woodwork technician told me he needed to think about ways to solve this over the weekend. He was very optimistic about it though, and convinced we shouldn't give up, so on monday morning I will go back and we'll see what we can come up with.

Today at uni there was also a visiting artist, Justin Coombes who held a talk about his practise.
I felt enormously inspired by his concept of combining his own poems and photos into artistic books portraying an alternative reality in the most beautiful way.

Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror

Ghost at the Feast

Somewhere

Sonnet for Aeko

Song of My Womb

Ri-ri! Ri-ri! Ri-ri! Ri-ri!

My halcyon song stretches proud, shrill, long 

and my unborn darlings echo the call 
in canal

and river and city and sea!


That swirling soup of refuse that I spied 

this morning as the lock rose up


reminded me, as all things do in 

pregnancy, of my divine insides.


Reader, take these musings lightly,


but see that home looked for when cruising 

can shift like silt: nests when floating 

can drift away towards cloud sightings 

updownupwards, where the mind sings,


from trails of swirling trash where it all begins. 

(from "Halcyon Song", Coombes 2nd book)

This talk made me feel positive about my "Question Card" project again. Image and text can go very well together without explaining too much or making the concept too obvious for the viewer/reader. I also feel optimistic now about my future dream of publishing my own illustrated poems. 

Tomorrow Jennie will have her film showing in her home. I'm VERY excited about seeing her films. 

It will be so fun! Have a lovely Friday everyone!!!

Nadja